3 Heads & a Tail (23 page)

“
This is weird,
”
said Josie.

“
Yeah,
”
said Ben
.
“
I
'
ve never seen that dog before.
”

Josie
'
s eyes lit up.
“
I have!
It
'
s the
one
he wa
s staring at before. Remember – when
he
crashed
into
a
tree
?
!
”

Glen glanced up and whined. Ben patted him on the head. Glen looked up,
licke
d his hand and then
started walking towards the other dog,
pulling
Ben
behind
. Josie
followed.

As Glen walked forward, so the other dog started walking towards him. The
girl,
bewildered
,
went with it.

“
Sorry
,
”
said Ben to the girl, as the two dogs met.
“
I guess our dogs wanted to say hello
to each other
.
”

“
I think so,
”
replied the girl shyly
, blinking in the sun
.
“
She
'
s in heat at the moment. I keep walking
her
away
quickly whenever I spot a
male dog
in the vicinity
!
”

Ben nodded.
“
Glen
'
s safe. I don
'
t think he
'
s like normal dogs.
”

“
How so?
”
asked the girl.

“
Well, I think he
'
s a bit eccentric!
”

“
Really?
”
she asked, laughing.

“
Yep, he
likes baths,
watches TV,
hates walking in dog pooh in the park – he swerves to avoid it – and he doesn
'
t run after female dogs. In fact, I think your dog is the first one he
'
s been
interested in for a long time.
”

The girl
giggled
.
“
Weird, but kind of cute – he sounds almost human!
”

“
Oh, now they
'
re sniffing each other
'
s bums,
”
observed Josie.
“
That
'
s definitely not human!
”

Everyone
looked the other way
.

It
'
s so great to see her again.
“
Voof, voof, voof.
”
Ben and Josie
are
looking confused, but I think it
'
s ok
ay
now
'
cos
we
'
re all
sitting down
together
. I
'
m so happy. It
'
s like a dream come true. Here I am in the park and Mimi is sitting here next to me. She smells so nice and her c
oat is so shiny, even shinier than I remember though
not as shiny as those glorious brown eyes. I could melt in them. But hey
,
now I sound like one of those actors
in
those cheesy
black-and-white
films Ben watches.
I thought she
'
d never notice me, but here I am, sitting next to the best-looking dog in the neighbourhood.

Ha, look, there
'
s that
big
Doberman walking past and he
'
s looking. Bet he
'
s jealous. All the dogs are looking at me as they walk past with their owners. Bet they didn
'
t know I had it in me. Well, come on, even I didn
'
t k
now I had it in me! Here she is, Mimi,
enjoying my company. If only it could last forever. I hope Ben doesn
'
t get bored soon and want us to go. But, hey, look at that – he
'
s chatting to the gi
rl who was walking Mimi. She
'
s
pretty.
Josie isn
'
t talking, but looking at the sky. That
'
s an awkward position
to be in
!

“
It
'
s voof
ing good
to see you again,
”
says
Mimi.
“
I
'
m really glad we met, e
ven though it was embarrassing!
”

“
Voof! Me too,
”
I say.
“
Did you like my big fit? I figured it was the only way I could get us out of that situation!
”

Mimi laughs, which sounds
like a whine to humans.
“
Yeah,
I
loved it. Voof!
You
'
re a very good actor, Glen.
”

“
Thanks, v
oof,
I like it
when you say my name –
I
'
m just used to Ben saying it!
”

Mimi looks
at Ben.
“
He has a kind face.
”

“
He is,
”
I nod.
“
He
'
s great. I
'
m lucky to have him.
”

“
Who is the woman?
”

“
Josie. She lives with us. Only moved in a couple of weeks ago,
”
I explain, feeling a bit sorry for
her
, sitting there in silence as Ben and the girl chat
and giggle
away
.
“
I wish you could come home with us.
”

“
Me too,
”
replies
Mimi, her brown eyes widening.
“
I
'
d like to see where you live. Do you have a garden?
”

“
Voof, but it
'
s
small
and
a
bit wild.
It
'
s not as big as yours.
I
like
the park
better
.
”

“
Me
too,
I love the smell of the grass and the trees,
and
watching the ducks on the l
ake. On sunny days like this it
'
s the best place in the world
.
”
With that, she rolled on her back with her paws in the air, basking in the sun. He
r
tongue rolled out.

I feel like I
'
m going to do something
crazy, but I stop myself. This
is a first date. I can
'
t do
what I
'
m thinking! Ben would tell me off! Instead,
I just sit here watching, calming
myself
down. Stop being a horny old dog, I tell myself. Mimi
'
s looking at me smiling. I can
'
t resist. I nuzzle her face and she nuzzles me back, wagging her tail. Then my tail is wagging like the wind.

“
Wow, look,
”
I hear Ben say. I look up and he
'
s po
inting. Josie is saying
“
A
hhhhh
”
,
and Ben is
laughing,
“
I didn
'
t know he was
such an old romantic!
”

“
I think they like each other,
”
said the girl.

Everyone seems
fine
with
the situation
, which is
voofing
fantastic! I nuzzle Mimi some more. We stay in the park for maybe an hour, but time just speeds past, and before I know it, it
'
s time to go home.

“
It was voof
ing amazing
to see you
again,
”
I say
as Mimi gets
up
to go. She looks a
bit
sad.

“
I
'
m going to miss you, Glen. I hope to see you soon.
”
S
he nuzzles my nose with her own.

I
'
m going weak at the
paws
and I thought that only happened in cheesy movies.

“
I guess this is goodbye for now then,
”
I say, and Mimi nods, her big brown eyes sparkling in the sun.

“
It was nice to meet
you
,
Ayla
,
”
said Ben, as the girl clipped Mimi
'
s lead on to her collar.

“
You too,
”
sai
d the girl
.

“
Bye!
”
said Josie, smiling
an
d patting Glen on the back. He
was wagging his tail and looking like a new dog! She created a bit of distance between herself and the newly acquainted couple.

“
Do you walk your dog
here
often
?
”
asked Ben
as
Ayla
was about to walk away
.

“
Her name is Mimi,
”
said
Ayla
.
“
And, yes, we come here every day. I
'
ve seen yo
ur dog before, I think. O
ne time he leapt for a Frisbee and crashed into a tree.
”

Glen looked down at the floor
and whined
.

“
I think he
'
s embarrassed!
”
joked Ben.

She nodded.
“
It was unforgettable – sorry, Glen!
”

“
I
t was probably my fault for throwing it wrong! He
'
s a great dog. Best dog you could wish for really. I think he really likes Mimi.
”

“
I think so
too
!
”
laughed
Ayla
.
“
It
'
s so sweet.
”

“
Maybe we could synchronise dog walking so
that they can meet in the park?
”
suggested Ben, who had an ulterior
motive. Based on her
T
-shirt, which showed she
believ
ed in animal rights, t
hey m
ight have some things in common. Plus she was cute
.

“
That
'
s a good idea –
I
'
ll
give you my number.
”

Josie sighed
. She bent down and stroked Glen, who was looking at her strangely, almost as if he understood her.